Our Vision

CavityFree SF works to eliminate disparities in oral health care so all San Francisco children can be cavity-free and healthy

Our Guiding Principles

To achieve the goal of caries-free children in San Francisco, our Implementation Teams, champions, and partners will focus on:

Prevention (not to the exclusion of treatment)

Ages 0-10 and pregnant women

Populations that are most at-risk, including low-income, communities of color, children with special needs, and recent immigrants

Sustainable efforts; utilize all available funding streams

Policy and systems levels change

Coordinated city-wide efforts

Inclusion of community perspective

Our Strategic Categories

San Francisco children are deprived of oral health care at many different levels of service. We use the following strategic approaches to remove the barriers:

Access

Increase access to oral health care services for San Francisco children and pregnant women.

Integration

Integrate oral health with overall health by educating primary care providers and staff on screening for caries, applying fluoride varnish and raising awareness of the importance of oral health to an individual's well-being.

Promotion

Increase awareness and practice of optimal children’s oral health behaviors among diverse communities in San Francisco.

Evaluation

Develop and establish an ongoing oral health population-based data collection and analysis system to address the oral health of San Francisco children.

Coordination

Oversee implementation of the Strategic Plan and ensure visibility and sustainability of the collaborative.

Our Core Team

Co-leads

Dr. Lisa Berens, UCSF Public Health Dentist, and Prasanthi Patel, MPH, San Francisco Department of Public Health Children’s Oral Health Director, are the co-leads of CavityFree SF. Their efforts focus on addressing the dental needs of underserved high-risk children in San Francisco. Together, they developed a core team of oral health advocates and leaders to create the SF Children’s Oral Health Strategic Plans.

Implementation Coordinating Committee (ICC)

The ICC is a diverse group of individuals from various organizations who meet regularly to review progress and provide input to the core team, helping CavityFree SF move toward our goals. See members list.